Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most common symptoms associated with COVID-19?
There are a number of symptoms for Covid-19 – Fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, recent loss of taste of smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea, diarrhoea etc.
Source: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html
Does Swaasa RTW have the capability of detecting COVID-19?
Three of the top five symptoms for Covid-19 deal with respiratory issues. Using Swaasa RTW, one can detect respiratory issues and so provide a good indicator of possible COVID-19 infection.
Unlike a PCR test, It is not a definitive test for COVID19 but can be an effective way to enhance risk assessment.
How does Swaasa RTW identify whether an employee is safe to work or not
Swaasa RTW uses a combination of (a) Symptoms (b) Body temperature (c ) Oxygen saturation and (d) Cough analysis to categorize employees who are safe to work and who are advised caution. Our integrated status of an individual has been developed with inputs from those in the medical profession.
How does Swaasa RTW enable remote Covid-19 risk assessment?
Swaasa’s capabilities are delivered through web and mobile channels. This becomes an easy way for individuals/employees to perform risk assessments remotely at the comfort of their homes. Before leaving for work, this risk assessment is a valuable method in managing risks to an organization and its employees.
What approvals / certifications has Swaasa enabled lung function tests undergone?
Swaasa has completed WHO defined clinical trial (https://apps.who.int/trialsearch/Trial2.aspx?TrialID=CTRI/2018/08/015237) and is in the process of FDA approval to enable it being treated as a medical device. Once approved, it will be considered equivalent of using a spirometer, the gold standard in lung function testing.
In the context of Covid-19, we adopt the same proven technology to enhance risk assessments alone (we do not provide medical diagnostics until we have the right approvals in place).
What are the core capabilities that Swaasa RTW supports?
Swaasa enables monitoring of temperature , symptoms and respiratory conditions using oxygen saturation and cough analysis at individual employee level. All this being done in a contactless, easy to use and automated manner.
Moreover it also provides organization level dashboards and trends to not only look at a longitudinal view of individual data but also review group level information to make the right management decision.
How does Swaasa RTW integrate with our systems within our organization?
Swaasa RTW offers a loosely coupled integration with the organisations’ systems. A more tightly integrated solution can be offered by engaging our Software Services team.
What are the data and privacy issues that need to be considered when using Swaasa?
Swaasa AI uses anonymised data. All PHI resides in the employer’s systems or in a secure cloud compliant per industry standards, within the organization’s firewall..
How does the product handle individuals with pre-existing lung problems?
Employers have the option to manually set clearances for any particular employee, thereby overriding the assessment of the system. This can be done after the due verification process defined by each organization.
Does a person need to have a cough for this product to deliver value?
The cough sample given by an employee may be voluntary or involuntary. In other words the employee does not have to be suffering from cough for the product to be able to assess lung health.
How is Swaasa RTW different from other products available in the market?
Swaasa offers the additional parameter of lung-health assessment in assessing the risk level of an employee in addition to conventional questionnaire based assessment. Since Covid-19 is essentially an infection of the lungs, it is an important addition in providing a more comprehensive risk assessment.
What unique capability does the product provide to help protect the workplace?
- Lung health assessment based on cough analysis , powered by Swaasa AI.
- Ability for the organization to monitor employees over period of time
- Ability for employer to spot risk trends early and to see trends and statistics by group or location.
How does Swaasa perform with regard to “test-retest variability”. (i.e., the same person repeating the test within 20 minutes of first should likely have the same output)?
Swaasa performs well w.r.t “Test-Retest” variability. This has been tested in various scenarios.
What are the sources for the health questionnaire and the preventive measures mentioned in the RTW app?
Do you have certifications for cough analysis (Swaasa)?
We are authorized for use as a Medical device (software as a medical device) in India. We are pursuing regulatory approvals in the USA, Canada, and Australia for our “core” medical application as Software as a Medical Device.
What is ReWell MD and what is its relation or association with Swaasa?
ReWell MD was the original name of the respiratory health assessment platform developmed by Salcit Technologies Private Limited, which has been renamed as SwaasaTM.